


Donna, My Darling

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s05e12 Slow News Day, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-03-05
Updated: 2004-03-05
Packaged: 2019-05-30 23:07:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15106676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Donna gives CJ relationship advice and CJ uses it.





	Donna, My Darling

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

Donna, My Darling

**Donna, My Darling**

**by:** soft lite

**Character(s):** CJ, Donna, Carol, Ben, and Danny  
**Pairing(s):** CJ/Ben, CJ/Danny  
**Category(s):** Post-ep, romance  
**Rating:** PG  
**Disclaimer:** Characters from "The West Wing" are not mine.  
**Summary:** Donna gives CJ relationship advice and CJ uses it.   
**Spoiler:** Season 5 through "Slow News Day"  
 **Author's Note:** This was sparked by a comment from Kate. 

"Hey CJ, do you have a minute?" 

"Sure Donna, come on in," CJ replied, placing the pen from her teeth into the folder as a marker. 

"A few days ago you were going to ask me to lie to a guy for you?" Donna asked cautiously. 

"Well, that's putting it bluntly," CJ admitted with a sigh and a nod. 

"It wasn't someone, you know, that I know?" 

"No." CJ seemed relieved, and noticed Donna did, too. 

"Good, cause you know I couldn't lie very well to someone I know." 

"I know." 

"I'm not even sure I could, like, to a total stranger," Donna added quickly. 

"You know, in retrospect, I realize that. At the time, I was just a little desperate." 

"A little?" 

"Well, maybe a lot." 

After a moment of looking around the room, at everything except CJ, Donna asked, "Who's the guy?" 

"A guy I used to date. A long time ago." Sighing. "Every time he breaks up with someone, he calls me, and says he wants to get back together with me. He knows we don't work. He knows I know we don't work. But, you know, we're comfortable." 

"And he called you the other day?" 

"He started calling last summer. At first, I took the calls and told him I'm not interested. But he has this voice. So I started asking Carol to - I felt awful about it - and she hated it - and then she got to know him and like him. But I can't get anywhere talking to Ben." 

"Ben. That's his name." 

"Yeah." 

Donna pushed the door shut. "Does Ben know about Danny? Or, for that matter, vice versa?" 

"What does Danny have to do with Ben? Or my personal life?" 

"Not as much as you'd like." Donna continued quickly, not allowing CJ the opportunity to interrupt, "Look, I can tell you're crazy about Danny and I understand that you can't be with him because of the conflict and I can only guess how frustrating that must be for you. And I think what's going on with Ben is that in the past when he called you, you gave him another chance - I think that's why he's so insistent now. Obviously you can't tell Ben anything specific about Danny, but if you just tell him you're not interested in him because there's a guy you want to be serious about..." 

After Donna finally finished, CJ sat stunned for several seconds. "Do you really think Ben would stop?" 

"He cares about you?" 

"Yes," CJ answered confidently. 

"Then yeah. But that's the easy part." 

"The easy part?" 

"Right, because the next time Danny is in the building, you have to tell him about Ben." 

With dread clear on her face and in her voice, CJ asked, "Why?" 

"CJ, I don't know how many people around here know about Ben, but I do know it's enough that he's going to find out." 

"Yeah." 

"It will haunt him less if you tell him." 

CJ nodded reluctantly. 

\--- 

For several days, CJ managed to avoid acting on Donna's advice, but it was never far from her mind. Soon she would have to talk to Ben. And Danny. Then one day after her first briefing, Carol greeted her at her office with, "Ben's here." 

"Which line?" 

"No, I mean he's in the lobby. They need to know what you want to do." 

"Call and say issue a visitor's badge. I'll go sign him in." 

"Okay." 

CJ paused to think about putting down her pen and folder, then kept them and left. Better to look professional and have tools in hand to help discourage Ben from a public display of affection. For that matter, any display of affection. As she entered the lobby, she extended her right hand and said loudly, "Ben," conveniently holding the folder on her left hip and arm with the pen pointing away from her body. 

"CJ," Ben answered, taking in her appearance and shaking her hand. 

"We all set?" CJ asked as she signed. At the nod from security, CJ led Ben towards her office, giving a very brief tour at the same time. "Carol. Ben. Ben. Carol," CJ offered without stopping. 

Carol smiled as politely as she could and shook his hand, "Hi." 

Without giving Ben time to reply, CJ turned in the doorway and told Carol, "I'm going to need some time here. Will you work with Simon in case he has to take the next briefing?" 

"Sure." 

"Inside," CJ said walking into her office without looking at Ben. "Close the door. Sit on the sofa," CJ added as she turned her guest chair to face him. "Ben, we've been friends for a very long time and I have a great deal of respect for you. So I'm going to give this to you straight." 

"You don't want to date me," Ben provided, immediately falling into the rhythm of the conversation. 

"As I've been saying for months." 

"But it's not because you're dating someone else." 

"No." 

"Which is the only reason you've ever refused in the past. So what gives?" 

"There's a guy I want to be serious about." 

"He's not interested." 

"He is." 

"So it's a job thing?" 

"Yes." 

"He's a felon." 

"No, Ben," CJ sounded annoyed for the first time in the conversation. "In my kind of job, there are many huge categories of men I can't be involved with." 

"So there's three more years. Why not date me for a while?" 

"Aside from you living 3000 miles away, I think this guy is the one, Ben. He's under my skin - has been for a few years - and I'm just not interested in being with anyone else when he's on my mind." 

After a long pause, searching her eyes, Ben replied, "Okay. I can tour DC just like anyone else. By myself. Then I'll fly back to Alaska. And I won't call you again." 

"Thank you, Ben. And you could call once annually to chat if you wanted." 

"Yeah, I will. Best wishes, CJ," Ben said, standing up and shaking her hand. "I hope these next three years aren't too hard." 

"Thank you, Ben. Goodbye," CJ replied with a small smile as she shook his hand, then opened the door. "Oh God," the smile immediately evaporated from her face. "Carol, please take Ben out. Danny. Inside." CJ closed the door, pointed Danny to the sofa and sat back down in her guest chair. 

"You look less than happy to see me," Danny observed with a wistful smile. 

"It isn't because I don't want to see you," CJ offered with a sad smile and shrug. "It's just that we need to have a conversation that I haven't been looking forward to." 

Danny settled back into the sofa, "Sounds serious. We don't get to do light banter first?" 

"Sorry. I have too much on my mind right now." 

"Okay." 

"That was Ben leaving." 

"Yeah, I heard you say his name to Carol." Danny's brow furrowed, "Are we having a serious conversation about Ben?" he asked, sounding suspicious. 

"Yes and no. We'll get there," CJ replied, clearly anxious about continuing. "Ben and I dated in college and occasionally since then, most recently ten years ago. He started calling last summer, after the thing with Zoey, wanting to get back together again." CJ waited as Danny absorbed this. 

"Ben lives around here?" 

"No farther away than you've been for the past three years," said CJ icily. "Alaska." 

"Alaska?!? An ex-boyfriend from Alaska whom you hadn't heard from in ten years suddenly wanted to date you, knowing your job mostly keeps you in DC?" 

"Yes." 

"And now he's in town visiting?" 

"You may recall that I said he started calling last summer. The reason he kept calling for months is because I refused and he couldn't understand why." Before Danny could ask any more, CJ held up her hands in the universal gesture for stop. "When he showed up here, no one was more surprised than me. The good thing about him being here is that with him sitting in my office, there were things I could say to him that I'd worry about saying on the phone. Which, by the way, is why we're having this conversation here and now. Ben understands now and has agreed not to come see me again, to go back to Alaska whenever he's scheduled to, and to call me no more than once a year and for nothing other than chatting." 

Danny absorbed this, and finally asked, "Ben understands what?" 

"What?" 

In the voice of a teacher humoring a deliberately slow child, Danny reminded CJ, "You said you explained something to Ben in person that you weren't comfortable discussing on the phone, and now he understands." 

CJ sighed deeply, knowing she couldn't delay this any longer. She deliberately folded her hands, looked down at the floor, and then closed her eyes. Quietly she explained, "I told Ben that the reason I don't want to date him is that there's a guy I want to be serious about but can't because of my job." 

After what seemed like forever to CJ, she felt Danny place a hand on her still-folded hands. "CJ, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me. I want to be serious about you, too, and I know we can't while we're in these jobs. Waiting these years has been hard - that's part of the reason I keep going away on assignments - and waiting three more years is going to be hard." Danny stopped and waited for CJ to look at him. "CJ, you're worth waiting for." Danny raised his eyebrows. "I'll wait." 

A genuine, wide smile broke out over CJ's face for the first time in a very long time. "I'll wait, too." 

They jumped apart as Carol knocked and entered. "Toby's on his way over." 

"Thanks for the heads up, Carol. Bye, Danny." 

"Right. See you later." 

\--- 

An hour later, on her way to the briefing room, CJ leaned into Donna's cubicle briefly. "Donna, my darling, you can give me relationship advice anytime!" 


End file.
